Folded flat blank article dispenser with follower discharge assistant



y 16. 1968 R. T. JACKSON 3,

FOLDED FLAT BLANK ARTICLE DISPENSER WITH FOLLQWER DISCHARGE ASSISTANT Filed May 18, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 'T E S F163 F1s.l

ROBERT TJAcKsou July 16. 1968 R. T. JACKSON 3,392,878

FOLDED FLAT BLANK ARTICLE DISPENSER WITH FOLLOWER DISCHARGE ASSISTANT Filed May 18, i966 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 F ii- V. 42

' 432 FIG .9 {21 12 INVENTOR ROBERT T. JACKSON United States Patent FOLDED FLAT BLANK ARTICLE DISPENSER WITH FOLLOWER DISCHARGE ASSISTANT Robert T. Jackson, Park Forest, 11]., assignor to Continental Can Company, Inc., New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed May 18, 1966, Ser. No. 551,060 4 Claims. (Cl. 221-65)v ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A dispenser which includes a generally tubular body having dispensing means disposed adjacent an end portion thereof. The dispensing means is defined by at least a pair of panels in overlying relationship and normally disposed in a non-dispensing position in a plane normal to the dispeser axis. A plurality of articles are housed in the dispenser in stacked relationship wholly to one side of and supported upon the dispensing means. A plunger is telescopically inserted into the dispenser through an opposite end portion for urging the stacked articles in singular fashion through the dispensing means, and tear strip means are provided for reducing the effective height of the dispenser to facilitate continued introduction of the plunger into the dispenser during successive dispensing operations.

This invention relates to a novel article dispenser, and is particularly directed to a dispensing container for dispensing individual articles in a singular fashion by the movement of a plunger and being provided with means for reducing the axial length of the dispensing container to facilitate the dispensing of articles from the time the first article is dispensed to the time the container has been emptied.

Conventional dispensers of the type to which this invention is directed are generally satisfactory but do include several disadvantages both in the manufacture and the use thereof. In the case of dispensers or dispensing containers constructed from plastic material, the initial cost of the plastic is relatively high, as compared to paperstock or similar inexpensive material, and intricate and costly molds are required to construct such dispensers. Due to the relatively high cost of plastic dispensers, the same cannot be generally discarded after each of the articles packaged therein hasbeen dispensed. Typical among such dispensers are the type generally referred to as cup dispensers which are continually refilled and are generally not expendable after the initially packaged articles have been dispensed.

In the case of dispensers constructed from sheet material, such as paper-stock material, no suitable means have been thus far provided for assuring the continued dispensing of individual articles in a singular fashion. Sheet material dispensers are relatively inexpensive to manufacture but have not met with appreciable consumer acceptance due'to the unreliability thereof to dispense articles in a repetitive singular fashion.

Irrespective of the material from which conventional dispensers are constructed, conventional dispensers of the type to which this invention is directed generally include a 'plunger which is internally telescopically movable from a position normally adjacent one axial end portion of the dispenser toward an opposite axial end portion thereof.

3,392,878 Patented July 16, 1968 Radially inwardly directed ribs or projections are normally disposed adjacent the opposite end portion of the dispenser for dispensing articles one. by one as the plunger is moved toward the ribs or similar means. A major disadvantage of such dispensers is the continued insertion of the plunger into the dispenser until a point is reached at which it is relatively difficult to manipulate the plunger and continue dispensing articles therefrom.

In keeping with the above, it is a primary object of this invention to provide a novel dispenser or dispensing container which overcomes the above and other disadvantages of conventional dispensers by providing a dispensing container constructed from inexpensive sheet material yet including means which assure repetitive dispensing of articles in a singular fashion and means for reducing the axial length of the dispensing container at some time prior to the complete dispensing of articles therefrom to facilitate the manual movement of a plunger which is also preferably constructed from sheet material whereby the dispenser is relatively inexpensive to manufacture and can be discarded after each of a plurality of articles initially packaged therein have been dispensed.

A further object of this invention is to provide a novel dispensing container particularly adapted to dispense a plurality of articles, such as relatively large soap tablets, in a singular repetitive fashion, the dispensing container including a generally tubular body having axially opposite end portions, the tubular body being constructed from folded sheet material, means adjacent one of the end portions for dispensing individual articles from the body in a singular fashion, the dispensing means being defined by a pair of panels integrally formed from the material of the body, the panels being in generally overlying relationship and normally disposed radially inwardly of the body, means maintaining the panels in overlying relationship, and plunger means for movement from an opposite end of the body toward the one end portion for dispensing each article as the panels are deflected under the force applied to the plunger means.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a novel dispensing container of the type heretofore described wherein tear strip means are provided between the end portions of the body for reducing the axial length thereof at some time prior to the complete dispensing of articles from the body to facilitate the manual movement of the plunger means toward the pair of panels.

A further object of this invention is to provide a novel dispenser of the type heretofore described wherein the plunger is also preferably constructed from sheet material folded to the general configuration of the body whereby the entire dispensing container can be discarded after each of the articles packaged therein have been dispensed.

With the above and other objects in view that will hereinafter appear, the nature of the invention will be more clearly understood by reference to the following detailed description, the appended claimed subject matter, and the several views illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a novel dispensing container of this invention, and illustrates a plunger normally disposed adjacent one of a pair of axial end portions of a body of the dispenser, and tear strip means for removing a portion of the body during a dispensing operation.

FIGURE 2 is a bottom perspective view of the dispensing container of FIGURE 1, and illustrates means integrally formed from the material of the dispenser body for dispensing articles therefrom in a singular fashion.

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken generally along line 3-3 of FIGURE 1, and illustrates a plurality of articles packaged in a chamber of the dispensing container prior to a dispensing operation.

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view taken generally along line 4-4 of FIGURE 3, and illustrates the complementary configuration of the plunger and dispensing container bod FIGURE 5 is a cross-sectional view taken generally along line 5-5 of FIGURE 3, and more clearly illustrates the structure of the dispensing means.

FIGURE 6 is a sectional view taken generally along line 3-3 of FIGURE 1 after several of the articles have been dispensed from the container, and illustrates a remaining portion of the tubular body after an opposite end portion has been removed along the tear strip means and a lowermost tablet just prior to being released by the dispensing means.

FIGURE 7 is a bottom perspective view of the dispensing container of FIGURE 6, and illustrates the bottom-most of the tablets being dispensed from the container.

FIGURE 8 is a top plan view of a sheet material blank from which the plunger is constructed, and illustrates the particular configuration thereof.

FIGURE 9 is a top plan view of a sheet material blank from which the dispensing container body is constructed, and illustrates the particular configuration thereof.

FIGURE 10 is a top perspective view of another dispensing container constructed in accordance with this invention, and illustrates the generally diamond-shaped configuration thereof.

FIGURE 11 is a slightly enlarged sectional view taken generally along line 1111 of FIGURE 10, and illustrates deflectable dispensing means supporting a plurality of articles in a chamber of the container.

A novel dispensing container or dispenser is illustrated in FIGURES 1-7 of the drawings, and is generally designated by the reference numeral 15. The dispensing container 15 is of a two-piece construction including a container body 16 and a plunger 17. The dispensing container body 16 is constructed from a blank 18 (FIGURE 9) of sheet material while the plunger 17 is similarly constructed from a blank 20 (FIGURE 8) of sheet material.

Referring first to FIGURE 9 of the drawings, the blank 18 from which the container body 16 is constructed is preferably constructed from paperstock or similar foldable material and is generally of a rectangular configuration. The blank 18 includes opposite longitudinal edges 21, 22 and opposite generally parallel transverse edges 23, 24. A pair of spaced generally parallel longitudinal fold lines 25, 26 are positioned adjacent the longitudinal edge 22 and extend generally between the transverse edges 23, 24.

A plurality of transverse fold lines 2732 extend between the longitudinal edge 21 and the longitudinal fold line 25. A major securing panel 33 which is relatively narrow is set-off between the transverse edge 23, the transverse fold line 27, a portion (unnumbered) of the longitudinal edge 21 and an edge (also unnumbered) forming an extension of the fold line 25. The fold lines 27-32 and the transverse edge 24 set-off in association with the longitudinal edge 21 and the longitudinal fold line a plurality of generally rectangular panels 34-39, respectively. A pair of discontinuous cutlines 41, 42 are positioned substantially midway between the longitudinal edge 21 and the longitudinal fold line 25. The discontinuous cutlines 41, 42 define therebetween a removable tear strip 43 having a terminal gripping end portion 44.

A plurality of pairs of panels 46-51 are positioned between the longitudinal fold lines 25, 26 and transversely adjacent the respective panels 34-39. The pairs of panels 46-51 are substantially identical, and each pair of panels includes generally opposed trapezoidal panels 52, 53 joined to each other along an associated fold line 54 disposed immediately between the longitudinal fold lines 25, 26. Each panel 52 is defined by a portion of the longitudinal fold line 25, an associated one of the foli lines 54, and opposite free terminal edges 55, 56. Each of the panels 53 is similarly defined by a portion of the longitudinal fold line 26, an associated one of the fold lines 54, and a pair of free terminal edges 57, 58. Adjacent ones of the edges 55-58 define generally diamond-shaped openings (unnumbered) which have longitudinal axes generally in alignment with the associated fold lines 28-32.

The blank 18 includes a plurality of generally parallel short and transverse fold lines 61-66 which are in alignment with the respective fold lines 27-32. The fold lines 61-66 set-off a plurality of identical panels each designated by the reference numeral 67 in conjunction with the longitudinal edge 22 and the longitudinal fold line 26. A minor securing panel 68 is joined to an adjacent one of the panels 67 along the fold line 61.

The major securing panel 33, the minor securing panel 68 and at least one of each of the pairs of panels 46-51 is provided with adhesive to maintain the blank 18 in the folded configuration thereof as will be more apparent hereafter.

The blank 18 is formed to the configuration of the dispensing container body 16 by first folding the panels 52, 53 of each of the pairs of panels 46-51 into overlying adhesive contact with each other. This positions the panels 46-51 in a plane generally normal to the plane of the blank 18 with each of the pairs of panels 46-67 projecting to one and the same side of the blank 18. Thereafter, the blank 18 is folded along the fold lines 27-32 and 61-66 to impart a generally hexagonal crosssectional configuration to the tubular body 16. The securing panels 23, 68 are secured to the panels 39, 67 adjacent the transverse edge 24 to maintain the body 16 in the generally hexagonal configuration thereof.

The pairs of panels 46-51 are directed generally normal to the axis of the container body 16, as is best illustrated in FIGURE 3, of the drawings, and define deflectable dispensing means, generally referred to by the reference numeral 70. The dispensing means 70 are located adjacent a lower end portion 71 of the container body 16 and are generally in the form of a discontinuous annular shoulder forming a generally hexagonal shaped dispensing opening 72.

The tear strip 43 is located adjacent an upper end portion 73 of the body 15, and functions in a manner which will be more fully described hereafter.

Referring now to the blank 20 of FIGURE 8, a pair of spaced parallel fold lines 80, 81, a plurality of spaced transverse fold lines 82-87 and opposite transverse edges 88, define a plurality of generally rectangular panels 91-97. The width of the panels 92-97 is slightly less than the width of the panels 34-39 of the blank 18 to facilitate the introduction of the plunger 17 into the body 16, as will be more apparent hereafter.

Hexagonal panels 100-103 are joined to the respective panels 92, 95, 93 and 96 while generally triangular shaped panels 104-111 are joined to the respective panels 93, 94, 96, 97, 92, 94, and 97.

Adhesive (not shown) is preferably applied to the panel 91, the hexagonal panel 100 and the hexagonal panel 102.

The blank 20 of FIGURE 8 is folded to form the plunger 17 by first folding the blank 20 along the fold lines 82-88 and adhesively securing the panel 91 to the interior surface of the panel 97, as is best illustrated in FIGURE 4 of the drawings. The triangular panels 104-106 are then folded radially inwardly into a common plane after which the panel 101 is folded into overlying relationship to the triangular panels 104-107. Thereafter, the adhesive coated surface of the panel 100 is brought into overlying bonding engagement with the panel 101 to secure the panels 100, 101 and 104-107 in assembled relationship. A piece of corrugated board or similar relatively inexpensive rigid material (not shown) having a lengthgenerally equal to the distance between the fold lines 80, 81 can now be introduced into-the plunger through the remaining open end thereof. The purpose of such an insert is to reinforce the plunger 17 when axial forces are applied thereto, as will be more apparent hereafter. After the insert has been inserted into the plunger, the triangular shaped panels 108-111 are folded radially inwardly into a cominon plane, the panel 103 is folded into overlying relationship thereto, and the adhesive coated surface 102 is folded into contact with the panel 103 to complete the formation of the plunger 17.

After a plurality of articles A (FIGURE 3) have been pack-aged in a chamber (unnumbered) of the dispensing container body 16, the plunger 17 is positioned in internal telescopic relationship adjacent the upper end portion 73, in the manner best illustrated in FIGURES 1 and 3 of the drawings. When it is desired to dispense a lowermost one of the articles A which may be, for example, soap tablets or similar non-edible or edible articles, the plunger 17 is manually urged downwardly in the direction of the unnumbered headed arrow in FIG- URE 3 of the drawings. The downward movement of the plunger 17 acts against the plurality of articles A causing the dispensing means 70 to deflect radially downwardly and outwardly causing the dispensing opening 72 to progressively increase in size until -a position is reached corresponding to that illustrated in FIGURE 6 of the drawings. Upon continual movement of the plunger 17, the article A is subsequently dispensed through the end portion 71 and the dispensing means 70 immediately rebound to the solid outline position in FIGURE 3 of the drawings to prevent subsequent ones of the articles A from being accidentally or inadvertently dispensed through the dispensing opening 70 until manual pressure is again applied to the plunger 17.

After a plurality of the articles A have been dispensed in the manner just described, the plunger 17 reaches a position below the tear strip 43 and is substantially entirely confined within the body 16. At this time the terminal gripping portion 44 of the tear strip 43 is gripped and pulled to remove the tear strip 44 along the cutlines 41, 42 whereupon the upper end portion 73 of the body 16 can be removed to again expose the plunger 17, in the manner illustrated in FIGURES 6 and 7 of the drawings. The plunger can now be readily advanced toward the dispensing means 70 until each of the articles A have been dispensed therefrom, after which the dispensing container 15 can be discarded.

Another novel dispensing container constructed in ac cordance with this invention is illustrated in FIGURES 10 and 11 of the drawings, and is generally designated by the reference numeral 115. The dispensing container 115 includes a body 116 defined by four panels 117-120 (FIGURE 11). The body 116 is preferably constructed from a sheet material blank which is generally similar to the blank 18 except that only four body-forming panels and a securing panel are provided. A lower end portion 121 of the body 116 includes dispensing means 122 which are identical to the dispensing means 70 of the dispensing container 16.

A plurality of generally circular shaped articles A only one of which is illustrated, are preferably supported in stacked relationship upon the dispensing means 122. A sheet material plunger 123 folded to a generally diamondshaped configuration is normally positioned adjacent an upper end portion 124 of the body 116, in much the manner of the plunger 17 of the dispensing container 15. The diamond-shaped configuration of the plunger 123 maintains the diamond-shaped configuration of the body 116, in the manner readily apparent from FIGURE 10 of the drawings.

The operation of the dispensing container is identical to that of the dispensing container 15, and a description thereof is deemed unnecessary for a complete understanding of this invention. However, it is to be noted that while the cross-sectional configuration of the dispensing container 15 is diamond-shaped and the dispensing opening (unnumbered) defined by the dispensing means 122 is similarly diamond-shaped, circular or articles of similar outline can be dispensed by the dispensing means 122 merely by urging the plunger 123 toward the lower end portion 121 of the body 116. Thus, it is readily apparent that the dispensing means 70 and 122 are adapted for use with dispensing containers of varied transverse crosssectional configurations and are equally capable of dispensing articles which are other than cylindrical.

While preferred forms and arrangement of parts have been shown in illustrating the invention, it is to be clearly understood that various changes in details and arrangement of parts may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claimed subject matter.

I claim:

1. A dispenser comprising a generally tubular body having axially opposite end portions, means adjacent one of said portions for dispensing individual articles from said body in a singular fashion, said dispensing means being defined by a pair of panels integrally formed from the material of said body, said panels being in overlying relationship and normally disposed radially inwardly of said body in a plane normal to the body axis, means maintaining said panels in overlying relationship, tear strip means between said end portions for reducing the axial length of said body at some time prior to the complete dispensing of articles therefrom, a plunger normally disposed in internal telescopic relationship adjacent the other of said axial opposite end portions, and the distance between said tear strip means and a terminal axial edge of said other end portion being substantially equal to the axial length of said plunger whereby after total insertion of said plunger into said body the tear strip means can be removed to again at least partially expose the plunger for further movement into said body.

2. A dispensing package comprising a generally tubular body having axially opposite end portions terminating at associated adjacent edges, means adjacent one of said end portions for dispensing individual articles from said body in a singular fashion, said dispensing means being defined by a pair of panels integrally formed from the material of said body, said panels being in overlying relationship and normally disposed radially inwardly of said body in a plane normal to the body axis, a plurality of non-nested stacked dispensable articles housed in said body wholly to one axial side of said dispensing means, a lowermost one of said articles being seated upon and underlyingly supported by said dispensing means whereby upon the application of an axial force upon an upper one of said articles in a direction toward said dispensing means the lowermost article is forced outwardly of said body through said dispensing means, a plunger seated in internal telescopic relationship relative to said body adjacent said uppermost article for movement towards the dispensing means during a dispensing operation, tear strip means disposed between said end portions for reducing the axial length of said body at some time prior to the complete dispensing of the articles therefrom, and the distance between said tear strip means and the terminal edge of said body remote from said dispensing means is substantially equal to the axial length of said plunger whereby after total insertion of said plunger into said body the tear strip means can be removed to again at least partially expose the plunger for further movement into said body.

3. A dispenser comprising a generally tubular body having axially opposite end portions, means adjacent one of said end portions for dispensing individual articles from said body in a first position and for preventing the dispensing of articles from said body in a second position, tear strip means between said end portions for reducing the axial length of said body at some time prior to the complete dispensing of articles therefrom, a plunger normally disposed in internal telescopic relationship adjacent the other of said axial opposite end portions whereby upon the application of an axial force to said plunger in a direction toward said dispensing means a lowermost article is forced outwardly of said body through said dispensing means, and the distance between said tear strip means and a terminal axial edge of said other end portion is substantially equal to the axial length of said plunger whereby after total insertion of said plunger into said body the tear strip means can be removed to again at least partially expose the plunger for further movement into said body.

4. A blank assembly of the type adapted to be set-up to form a dispensing container comprising a dispensing container blank and a plunger blank, said dispensing container blank being a generally planar rectangular sheet material member, said member being defined in part by a pair of opposite edge portions, means adjacent one of said edge portions for dispensing individual stacked articles in a singular fashion when the blank is set up to form a dispensing container, said dispensing means being defined by a pair of panels, each of said panel's including a pair of spaced free edges, means for facilitating the folding of said panels into overlying relationship to each other,

tear strip means between said pair of opposite edge portions for reducing the axial length of a Container formed from the dispensing container blank at some time prior to the complete dispensing of articles therefrom, said plunger blank including a body wall to which is joined end panels along spaced fold lines, and the distance between said fold lines corresponds to the distance at which the tear strip means is spaced from the other of said edge portions.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,190,128 7/1916 Doyle 221-279 X 2,601,852 7/1952 Wendt 221-279 X 2,857,794 10/1958 Red 221 3,112,046 11/ 1963 Szekely 221-'279 X 3,121,511 2/1964 Whitehead 221305 X 3,145,840 8/1964 Wright 221-63 X 3,211,329 10/1965 Boyd 221-279 3,243,078 3/1966 Pherson 22148 2,431,121 11/ 1947 Hunter 221-307 2,991,910 7/1961 Coe 221305 3,191,805 6/1965 Stanley 2215 3,224,633 12/ 1965 Allen 221-65 3,246,800 4/1966 Stone v 221-305 SAMUEL F. COLEMAN, Primary Examiner. 

